WINNEMUCCA - Over the past six weeks, the Lowry High School varsity football team has slipped under the radar despite blow out victories in all six of those games.
After two weeks on the road, the Buckaroos were back at home Friday night to host Fernley.
The matchup figured to be a battle of two of the best teams in the Division I-A North. The Vaqueros recently stopped Truckee's 41-game win streak with a 7-0 victory. The Wolverines defeated the Buckaroos 27-7, way back on Sept. 1.
None of the past meant anything as the Buckaroos sent a statement to the rest of the state with a 41-14 win over the Vaqueros.
Fernley scored the first seven points of the night, but Lowry countered with 41 consecutive points and was able to sit out its starters in the fourth quarter.
"With Fernley upsetting Truckee, we knew we were in for a tough game," said LHS head coach Tim Billingsley. "The kids just responded great. After the first drive it was all Lowry. It was a great team effort and we are happy. Not many people were expecting this, let alone us winning the game. The goal has been to get better every week and we have done that."
One of the few stumbles for the Buckaroos was a Calvin Connors interception on the initial drive of the game. The Vaqueros took advantage of a short field and converted a fourth-and-eight play on their way to taking a 7-0 lead after an 8-yard run by Skylar Williams.
Connors more than made up for the mistake, as the junior scored five touchdowns on the night as he tore apart the Fernley defense.
Lowry answered the Fernley touchdown by driving 80 yards, a series capped off by a 14-yard touchdown run by Connors. During the drive Connors had a 20-yard run and a 16-yard pass completion to Michal Arenas.
After giving up the first score to Fernley, Lowry's defense allowed the Vaqueros just three first down for the rest of the first half.
The Buckaroos (8-1 overall, 7-1 Division I-A) took the lead for good with five minutes left in the first quarter, when Connors took a quarterback sneak 75 yards, after the Fernley defense left the middle of the field wide open.
Lowry hit a road bump midway through the first half, with a second turnover and a three-and-out. However, the Buckaroos got back on track after a Fernley fumble that was recovered by Arenas. On the next play, Michael Billingsley scampered up the middle for a 46-yard touchdown on a dive play.
Following another three-and-out by Fernley, Lowry went to the passing game as Connors connected with Robert Stepper on a 49-yard pass completion. Stepper juggled the ball a couple of times and was tackled at the 1-yard line. Connors punched the ball into the end zone on the next play on a 1-yard run for a 27-7 lead.
"We challenge our guys to get better each week and to play hard, said the coach. "They came out and played hard tonight, and it really showed on the field. To beat a team like Fernley the way we did, you have to give a lot of credit to the kids. People have overlooked us ever since that Truckee loss."
The Vaqueros, with the aid of a Lowry personal foul penalty, drove within the Lowry 10-yard line in the final seconds of the first half, but had the drive end with a Buckaroo interception.
Brandon Okuma joined the running attack in the third quarter as he helped erase a holding penalty with a 38-yard run to put Lowry at the Fernley 36-yard line.
Connors kept the drive going with a run of six yards on fourth-and three. On the next play, he scored from 20 yards out on a bootleg play to the right sideline. The junior had 119 yards rushing on nine carries to lead the Buckaroos.
Connors closed out his night with an 80-yard punt return that resembled video game play. He broke a number of tackles and was able to keep his balance to reach the end zone.
"Calvin had a great game," Billingsley said. "He has done a good job at quarterback and has improved every week and is getting more comfortable. That punt return was fun to watch."
Fernley scored with 14 seconds to play on a 9-yard run by Mitch Wiggins.
Lowry rushed for 298 yards on the night, with Okuma and Billingsley adding 74 and 53 yards, respectively, on the ground. Arenas had 24 yards rushing, Beau Billingsley 15 yards on three carries and Elijah Frei ran twice for 13 yards.
The Buckaroos ran just 39 offensive plays but was still able to provide nearly 400 yards of offense.
Lowry closes out the regular season on Thursday when it hosts Churchill County at 7 p.m. The Greenwave are coming off a 30-20 loss to Truckee. The Buckaroos can still win the league, with a win over the Greenwave and if South Tahoe beats Truckee this week.
If Truckee wins, it will host Fernley and the winner of the Lowry/Churchill County game will play host to the other in the opening round of the NIAA Division I-A state playoffs.
"We know it's going to be a physical game," Billingsley said. "It doesn't get any easier for us. Hopefully, we can pull it off. The game is for home field advantage in the playoffs. The kids are excited and it is fun to be a Lowry football player right now."
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